LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock Volleyball Head Coach
Van Compton announced the addition of Maile Levy, Alyssa Nayar, Amna Osmankovic, Janae Thurston and Lejla Viteskic for the 2019 season.
Levy, a 5-foot-9-inch outside hitter, prepped at San Dieguito Academy in Encinitas, Calif. At the high school level she played in 199 sets, tallying 345 kills, 187 of them coming her senior year, and 290 digs, 211 coming her last season. She played for the Wave Volleyball club team and intends to major in Criminal Justice.
"Maile comes from one of the top clubs in the nation, Wave," Compton said. "She's a typical California kid with good ball control and energy. She has been well coached and she is going to help us a lot in serve receive and back row. She's an all-around good player. She is going to help a lot on and off the court."
Nayar, hailing from Liberty High School in Frisco, Texas, is a 5-foot-10-inch setter who also played basketball in high school. Off the volleyball court, Nayar is a member of National Honors Society, National Spanish Honor Society, Key Club and many other extra-curricular groups. She was on Blocksport 15-18 and Excel 19 club teams, captaining the Blocksport squad.
"To me, Alyssa has a perfect personality and chemistry of a setter," Compton said. "She's got great hands and she plays with a good tempo. She stood out among the recruits and she can help keep this team at a high level."
Osmankovic, one of two international players in the class, calls Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina home. She played for the OK Novi Grad Sarajevo club team and was a member of the Junior National Team. The 6-foot-1-inch outside hitter prepped at Gimnazija Dobrinja.
"Amna is a six rotation, outside hitter," Compton said. "Her skills, work ethic and love of the game will help Little Rock build on what has already been established here."
Thurston, coming from Raymore Peculiar High School in Peculiar, Mo., is a 5-foot-11-inch setter that was named First Team All-District three times, First Team All-Conference three times and was a MOKAN All-Star player. She also played on the basketball team and ran track. She intends to major in nursing.
"Janae is very athletic, versatile and comes with a lot of accolades," Compton said. "Her contributions as a player will help us hold this team to a high standard."
Viteskic, who was club teammates with Osmankovic, also comes from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She's a 6-foot-1-inch middle blocker that was invited to the Junior National Team camp in 2017.
"Lejla is a true middle who has been coached well and has tremendous potential," Compton said. "She's a good student and will exemplify the student-athlete role."
